BON What are your favorite practices?

[Pilgrim]

The Bon Tradition is a very rich tradition who's practices I find great value in,  for those of you who practice in the Bon tradition which are your favorite practices and why?

 

I find the following essential and indispensable

 

1.The nine breaths of purification: This can of course be done for many many rounds and in my experience is very refreshing and does help clear the Lung and the mind and the emotions making them more stable.

 

2. Tsa Lung: This practice helps circulate the lung in the body and really helps re-energize and clear blockages as well as clear out stagnated lung. This also further clears and calms the mind

 

3.Guru Yoga: Guru Yoga is such a beautiful loving heart experience and even though I learned of Tapihritsa and Shenla Odkar almost at the same time I favor the connection with Tapihritsa.

 

Tapihritsa resonates best with me as a closely felt heart love connection that brings tears of joy and deep gratitude to my eyes that goes beyond just respect. In this practice Ah, OM, Hung,  White, Red & Blue lights connect at Crown, Throat & Heart Chakras. Body, Speech & Mind we connect to the lineage through the guru of the lineage. This to me is very important because the guru introduces us to Buddha so the guru is very important. We connect to the attributes of the guru and not only get purification but our mind via induction aligns and become more like the mind of the guru thereby helping us to perceive the Buddha. 

 

I have some experience of tummo described in another thread

Spoiler

 

  but find the basic first version I learned to be best as the book learning just added complexity to what I was gifted and without direct teaching not as good.

 

Due to years of Lucid dreaming and it growing ever stronger I have begun learning dream yoga of the Bon Tradition.

 

 I welcome a constructive dialogue and am eager to learn from the more experienced in this tradition thank you for taking the time to read these words.

[Pilgrim]

Hi Jeff thank you for the like. I would appreciate it if you would also take the time to compare and contrast your ways with that of the Bon Tradition especially Guru Yoga. 

[Jonesboy]

Interesting discussion here on Guru Yoga.

 

 

 

[Pilgrim]

30 minutes ago, Jonesboy said:

Interesting discussion here on Guru Yoga.

 

 

 

Thanks will take a look this evening

[Jeff]

56 minutes ago, Pilgrim said:

Hi Jeff thank you for the like. I would appreciate it if you would also take the time to compare and contrast your ways with that of the Bon Tradition especially Guru Yoga. 

 

I think there are many similarities. The difference is somewhat in the potential and how the practices work relative to view. My practices would sort of be the same as Bon if you kind of integrated (or overplayed) aspects of Kashmir Shaivism into it. It is hard to define the difference, but if a Bon-Buddhist would think of it as there being the three bodies of a buddha (Nirmankaya, Sambhogkaya, and Dharmakaya), it is like there would be an additional body added in (or you could also maybe describe it as another aspect of the Sambhogkaya). This additional aspect would correspond to being the fullness of Siva in KS.  In Taoism, it would be the stage or realization of the “valley of the universe” found in the Tao Te Ching.

 

At a practice level, this difference allows one to directly share space (or oneness) with others and not just have the energetic connection that you described. Part of this aspect is also how spinoff traditions like Pureland Buddhism can work. Basically, bringing together the primordial and emptiness view of Bon, but merge it with the oneness of  KS. This integration is to me is a key differentitator.

[doc benway]

I was a Daoist practitioner for over a decade until discovering Bön, which changed my life.

Now I'm a committed Bön practitioner and no longer practice anything else.

 

My core practices are 9 Breathings of Purification, Tsa Lung, Guru Yoga, abiding in the Natural State, and support practices from the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud. I engage in a variety of other practices as well, all from the Bön teachings.

 

If I had to pick a favorite, or most important practice, it would be my daily informal practice - integrating the Nature of Mind into day to day activity and relationships. It is such a powerful and challenging practice! A lifetime practice.

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by steve

[Miroku]

Not a Bön practitioner, although I had the luck to receive some teachings through webinars with Chamthrul Rinpoche. I want to just stop by and say how happy this thread has made me. Especially that you practice Guru Yoga. Really, there is nothing better to do. I am very glad to read this thread. Good luck you guys. Also some personal exp. Ngöndro is always a good idea, it might seem a lot, but if possible, definetly worth it.

[Pilgrim]

I have begun practicing The Yoga of Dream and sleep which works out well as I have a split sleep schedule due to the difference in hours I work versus those of my lady. If I get a few hours sleep after work I can be awake and spend time with her at night till around midnight or 1 at the latest then fall asleep and get up at 6 and go to work.  This way I can do my BON practices as listed above and to make it all better they are a part of the Yoga of Sleep and Dreams.

 

In the last few weeks I have been experiencing a great deal of pain from the death of my Mentor a friend I have known for 32 years since I was 17 years old. We were very close he was like my father. When the emotions and pain ride high Kriya practice becomes impossible. Kriya is primarily about Cleansing the Nadis, Chakras and central channel and using the triple divine qualities to take the mind into deep absorption but there is a problem here.

 

The heart chakra is the place for pain where pain of the mind collects this is where it is held. Having a heightened awareness of the subtle body from and by the practice of Kriya without the tools to heal from loss and pain makes things much, much worse.

 

The heart center is very important but is also a center that takes a long time to clear and fully mature. So Energizing the heart center and cleansing it with Kriya practice is not so good during difficult times.  Cleansing has it's place but not with raw, recent, new trauma all it does is magnify it and cause it to multiply. With the multiplication of pain the multiplication of thoughts. Even when the thoughts are not verbal but felt thoughts. 

 

I have made a few posts on the bums here recently and was seeking advice on how to deal with this. Last night I was looking for a different video by TWR and instead came immediately to his talk on turning pain into the path. 

 

Once again I am astounded by the wisdom of this Lama and would like to share this video with you all, watching this is very liable to change your life.  It is changing mine.

 

Something very important he said was :

 

One can not clean blood off of ones hand with a blooded hand. If you try to clean blood off of your hands by using blood you will never be clean of blood. If it is your goal to replace the first blood with the second blood then you will succeed.

 

In this case you are replacing a thought with a thought and this is not the way through pain.  

 

I think I will continue to share insights of this video and other teachings of his so I can continue to work things out and maybe we can understand better together? 

 

 

 

 

[Armando]

It was one of the things that attracted to me to Buddhism in the first place that it doesn't teach us to run away from life's more difficult aspects, but to accept them and to use them as stepping stones towards greater awareness. As a matter of fact, Gautama's eyes were opened when he became aware of the darkness that surrounded him.

 

@Pilgrim Have you tried Tonglen for dealing with your sadness?

[Pilgrim]

I have no idea what Tonglen is but am willing to learn.

[Armando]

6 minutes ago, Pilgrim said:

I have no idea what Tonglen is but am willing to learn.

 

That's a method from Tibetan Buddhism that can be used for healing and transforming any kind of difficult emotion.

 

I gave detailled instructions for it here:

 

 

[Pilgrim]

I tried the practice it is interesting.

 

The teachings in the video posted earlier by TWR are superior.